Trending
The Mifflin County Industrial Development Corp. and the Juniata River Valley Chamber of Commerce hosted a virtual entrepreneurial meet-up on Wednesday, Jan. 27. via Zoom. The meeting is for a free and open exchange of entrepreneurial/small business driven ideas and advice as well as to review and discuss the Paycheck Protection Program/PPP. Local entrepreneurs also discussed new updates and expansion plans for their businesses.
Ryan Cherry and Lilah Cherry, owners of East End Coffee Co. in Lewistown, have been working on a second location in Reedsville, which will not be up for a couple of months but is in the works.
Jim Sedwick, owner of Sedgwick Business Solutions, in Lewistown, who provides administrative support, bookkeeping and more, was 90% already remote. He states he is fortunate his business has not been affected as much. He does work with many clients, and is attempting to keep up with everything while also adding new services and software for clients.
Jenny Landis, owner of the Juniata River Valley Vistors Bureau, in Lewistown, is moving ahead with tourism even if its small term. They are working on a new waterways guide, which includes topics such as fishing, kayaking, swimming and more. Jenny also has a small micro-buisness to keep her busy, is offering 75 cent original art-work pins for Valentines Day. They can be found at East End Coffee Co., as well as The Crooked Shelf Bookshop. They are one of a kind.
Zane Swagner, owner of Explore LLC., a lot of business pivoting lately, work is phenomenal opportunity for businesses to realize technology is crucial, and they need websites. He's working on many online stores and service websites for business. Also runs the "Hows The Mountain?" website which is great for local commuters that have to go over the mountain.
Cody Wian, owner of Mifflin County Wireless, in Lewistown, is working on building his business and customer base as he competes with big companies such as CenturyLink, Comcast, etc. He is focusing on rural broadband and internet affordability. He is servicing a tower on Jacks Mountain as well as negotiating with landowners on building their own towers to service areas near 522 that are heavily under-serviced.
Jason Ufema, owner of Rich Coast Coffee and Shy Bear Brewing, in Lewistown, is planning to relaunch services soon for Rich Coast Coffee to blur the lines between direct-to-consumer and direct-to-buisness. For Shy Bear Brewing, they reopen for indoor dining on Friday. They are planning on having 121 events this year and are going outside their comfort zone to push for outdoor venue options during the good weather season coming up.
Liz Wicks, owner of Revival Kitchen, in Reedsville, a farm-to-table restaurant, looks forward to reopening for the spring of 2021 and is aiming for May 1,. She is looking to source food more locally from Juniata County instead of Centre County.
Ellen Cummings, new owner of Tip Top Resources LLC, in Lewistown, took over the business after the passing of her fiance and business partner Scott Mogel. She plans to re-vamp the business and the way it runs. They have new eco-friendly, biodegradeable, cleaning products and are now offering transportation for the Amish as well as doing buggy-washes.
Businesses are working hard to stay open during these hard times. The second round of the The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has come out. The PPP provides loans to help businesses keep their businesses open during the COVID crisis. Some businesses are applying and some have already received loans.